Tile construction



Feb. 19,, 1935.

TILE CONSTRUCTION Filed March 28, 1935" 2 Sheets-Sheet l 1.1.; .IT "1?.J i: 1H1 m? I Ji' g W. i 4 m 1 umWWWWW If, 38 5 I INVENTOR. 7

ATTORNEY.

H. P. c. KEULS I 1,991,558 a Patented Feb. 19, 1935 1 1,991,558

TILE CONSTRUCTION Henry P. C. Keuls, New York, N. Y., assignor, by

mesne assignments, to Sealed Joint Products Company, Inc., a corporationof Delaware Application March 28, 1933, Serial No, 663,140

7 Claims. (Cl. 72-19) This invention relates to tile construction, andhowin the f e ing and sealing strips in dotted more particularly to aconstruction wherein the 1 tiles are secured to a backing member bymetallic 2 is a Vi w, n elevation, i a P t o t e fastening strips. 7wall illustrated in Fig. 1, showing the manner in In carrying t'thinvention, tiles of a pecial which the tiles and fastening strips areassembled 5 form are laid against a backing member and are in Position;provided in their peripheral edges with V-shaped 3 is a View showing aplurality of assembled grooves which, i adjacent, tiles are opposed ttiles broken away at the corners to show the arone another, thopposedgmoves receiving m rangement of the fastening strips;

0 tening strips extending transversely acr t Fig. 4 is a partial sectionon line 44 of Fig. 1; joints between the adjacent tiles. The fasten- 5is a perspective V w O a t t e er ing strips are nailed or otherwisesecured to the h form of fajstehihg h used therewlth: backing member,thus holding the tiles against Flg 6 s an nd vi w of a til displacem t,Fig. 7 is a perspective view showing a different The fastening membersare preferably cut fr form of fastening strip used with the tiles; and15 flat sheet; teel d are form d t a pair of Fig.8isaperspective viewshowing still another loss extending at right angles to each other. formof fastening strip used with F tiles- These legs' te for approximatelyhalf their Referring to the drawings, the tiles A are pref width, mm thgrooves provided in t ihtersect erably rectangular in shape' and areprovided at ing edges of a tile, the other half portion of the theirPeripheral edges with n grooves 11 legs extending i t th grooves in theedges f to receive fastening strips B which serve to secure the tilesadjacent id intersecting edges the tiles to a backing member W, as forinstance, With this construction, each tile is in effect, a wall orframe- The fastemng SHIPS as mounted in a st l frame consisting in partof tioned before, are preferably cut from flat sheet the two legs 6f onefastening member, engaging metal, the one shown in Fig. consistingof apair in the grooves of two intersecting edges of the of legs b2 arrangeda l angles to each tile, nd i part of one of each of the f t other, andan offset bracket port on 12 formed at ing members associated with thetiles adjacent the comer of the where the legs the other intersectingedges, and which likewise meet- The bracket by bendmg? L engage in thegrooves thereof. portion b of the strip at right angles thereto and Them an for nailing the fa t i Strips to rebending the end b of thisportion into a plane the backing member may include aportion bent f wlththfalegs The rebeht Porhoh back from the strip and rebent into a planeparh Fquipped wlth hole 175 through Yvhmh a hall allel with the plane ofthe legs, the rebent por- 1S h the to the backmg member tion beingequipped with a hole through which as W111 h F h h a nail i d i tthe'backing member, if The invention is best illustrated by describ ngdesired apseparate clip may be used to hold the the method of laying thetile. As shown in Figs. fastening member in position 1 and 2, the tilesare laid in courses, and, for the 4 The relation between the width ofthe fastensake clanty, let i be i number 40 in t i and the depth f thegrooves may he of tiles have been laid. Thus, a tile 1S fastened m de;such t t no opening or space is l ft in position by a fastening strip Bwith the lower tween adjacent edges of the tiles, or, if desired, h ofthe horizontal leg ifhereof PmJePtmg th tiles may be formed to provide aSpace into the top groove a ofthe tile, and the inner UNITED STAT-ESPATENT OFFICE tweenthe edges which may be pointed up with half of thevertical leg b thereof extending into the vertical groove a at the leftof the tile A g fit g 3:: ig ggf g gfig s f 2222 22 1?" The fasteningstrip B is held in position by a are longer than the edges of the tilesso as to mm C pas-sing through the hole bn in the rebent I portion ofthe bracket element and into the backextend beyond and overlap thefastening strip ing member which may be a wall or other suitassociatedwith the adjacent tile, thus insuring a able framework 50 strongerstructure and a substantially moisture-s The next the is then placed inposition with p f joint at the corn of the tilesthe groove in the loweredge thereof receiving Referring to the drawings: the upper edge of thehorizontal leg of a fasten- Fig. liis a view, in elevation, of a portionofi g strip B associated with the tile in the course l a wall tiled inaccordance with the invention, next below it, and with the groove in theright 5 adjacent on the right. The tile A is now secured in position bymeans of a fastening member B As will be observed, the fastening memberB as well as the others, are provided with legs, considerably longerthan the edges of the tile with which it is used, and is placed inposition by sliding the lower end of the vertical leg 17 into thegrooves formed between the two adjacent tiles A and A of thecourse nextbelow. The fastening strip B is then pushed downwardly until the bottomedge of the horizontal leg 1) comes in contact with the base of thegroove in the upper edgeof its associated tile A and nailed in place.

The tile A, completely mounted, is shown in Fig. 3. Herein, it will benoted, the steel fastening strips completely frame the tile A the groovein the right edge thereof receiving the projecting portion of thevertical leg b of the strip B of the tileadjacent on the right, thegroove in the lower edgethereof receiving the upper projecting portionof the fastening strip B of the tile adjacent below, and the grooves inthe left and upper edges thereof receiving the inner edges of thevertical leg and horizontal leg of its own fastening strip Brespectively.

Due to the fact that the legs of the fastening strips extend beyond theedges of the tile and into the grooves of the adjacent tiles, each tileis in effect pinned at its four comers, although but a single nail isused for each tile. This results from the fact that the free ends ofeach fastening strip are held against forward displacement by thegrooves of the tiles into which they extend; thus, as shown in Fig. 3,the free end of the horizontal leg of the strip B is retained inposition by the groove in the upper edge of the tile A which tile inturn is held by its strip B nailed at C. With this construction, eachtile is retained along its entire peripheral edge.

Another form of fastening strip is shown in Fig. 7. In this embodimentthe bracket portion b for connecting the strip 3 to the wall, is

formed at the end of one of the leg members b 4 This bracket portion isformed by bending the end of one leg at right angles thereto, andrebending a portion b thereof into a plane parallel with the rightangularly connected legs b b. The same result is obtained as in theprevious embodiment for the same form of tile isused, and the leg b,devoid of the fastening bracket, extends into the groove of the adjacenttile and likewise overlaps, a portion of the fastening member Bassociated therewith. The nail C passing through the rebent portions ineffect connects each comer of the tile to the wall as in the casepreviously described. I

Fig. 8 shows still another embodiment of the invention, wherein theangular fastening strips B are formed without the integral rebentfastening portions. With this construction, the fastening members arejoined to the wall by means of clips B which include a downwardlyextending lip 17 engaging the outer face of the fastenin strip, ahorizontal rearwardly extending portion b and a vertical rebent portionb equipped with a hole D adapted to receive a nail for securing the clipto the wall.

T e invention, as previously described, is not nece: 'arily limited totiles laid in vertical as well terminates at the base of the groove inthe upper edge of a tile in the next adjacent lower course.

The-tiles (see Fig. 6) have their rear faces recessed', as at a in theregion adjacent the peripheral edges, the purpose of this being topermit the tiles toclear the rebent portions of the bracket elements andclips while still permitting the major portions of the .tile to restfirmly against the. backing member.

If it is, desired to give the effect of a tile wall laid with mortar,the widths of the legs of the fastening strips and the tile grooves maybe proportioned so as to leave a small space D between the front edgesof adjacent tiles, and these spaces may be pointed up with mortar togive the effect of usual tile construction.

The invention thus provides a tile construction which may be assembledby unskilled labor, avoids the necessity of using mortar as a means ofretaining the tiles in position, and eliminates any possibility of thetiles becoming loose and falling out of place. The fastening stripsextending to the base of the grooves in adjacent blocks, as they do,further provide a seal against moisture, and. consequently furnishes aconstruction suitable for use in swimming pools, shower stalls, andsimilar places.

The invention has been described in connection with the tiling of awall, or other vertical backing member, but it will be understood thatthe position of the'backing member .is not a limitation upon theinvention, as the backing member may be horizontal or inclined asdesired. Throughout the specification, the word tile has been used toindicate the wall facing elements, but the invention is equallyapplicable to brick and other similar building materials, and in theclaims the word tile is .to be interpreted as covering such material.Also, in the instance of the fastening strips, any suitablev material,other than susceptible of many modifications within its spirit and is tobe limited, therefore, only by the prior art and the scope of theappended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is: I

1. In combination, rectangular tile elements adapted to be laid edge toedge upon a backing member, grooves provided in the opposed edges ofadjacent tiles, fastening strips each having a pair of legs, one legengaging in the groove of one edge of a tile and the other leg engagingin the groove of an intersecting edge thereof, each of said legsengaging also in a groove presented in the edge of an adjacent tile, andmeans for securing the fastening strips to the backing member.

2. In combination, tile elements adapted to be laid edge to edge upon abacking member, and presenting grooves in their peripheral edges, and afastening strip associated with each tile element and extending into agroove thereof, said fastening strip comprising a pair of legs formed atright angles to each other, one of said legs being greater in lengththan the edge of its associated tile element, and having its endextending beyond the edge of the tile in service, said end projectinginto the'groove of an adjacent tile, whereby it is held againstdisplacement in a direction perpendicular to the tile face, and meansfor securing the fastening strip to the backing member. J 3. A metallicfastening strip for securing tiles to a wall comprising, a pair of legsarranged at right angles to each other, and having a portion thereofbent at right angles to the plane of the 40 steel, may likewise be used.The invention is legs and the end of said portion rebent into a planeparallel to the plane of the legs said portion providing means forsecuring the fastening strips in position.

4. In tile construction; the combination of tile units arranged edge toedge in courses, and each provided with a continuous groove extendingaround the periphery thereof, the grooves in adjacent tile units beingin alinement, a backing structure, and means for securing the tile unitsthereto, said means including angular fastening strips engaging in thegrooves in two intersecting edges of a tile and in the grooves of twoadjacent tiles, the strips in service being substantially hidden fromView.

5. In tile construction, the combination of tile units arranged edge toedge in courses and each,

provided with a continuous groove extending around the peripherythereof, the grooves in adjacent tile units being in alinement, abacking structure, and means for securing the tile units thereto, saidmeans including members having flat portions extending into the groovesaround the entire edge of a tile and .into opposed grooves in adjacenttiles, said members in service being substantially hidden from view.

6. In tile construction, the combination of tile units arranged edge toedge in courses and each provided with a continuous groove extendingaround the periphery thereof, the grooves in adjacent tile units beingin alinement, a backing structure, and means-for securing the tile unitsthereto, said means including angular strips each having a pair of flatlegs engaging in the groove of one tile unit and into the groovesof twoadjacent tile units, the angular strips in service being substantiallyhidden from'view.

7. In tile construction, the combination of tile units arranged edge toedge in courses, and each provided with a continuous substantially V-shaped groove extending around the periphery thereof, the grooves inadjacent tile units being in alinement, a backing structure, and meansfor securing the tile units thereto, including members having thin metalstrip portions engaging in the grooves of adjacent tiles, whereby thetiles are centered and held in position, and the metal strip portions inservice being substantially hidden from view.

HENRY P. C. KEULS.

